PORTSMOUTH, OH (July 2, 2016) Scott Bloomquist rolled to his third straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory at Portsmouth Raceway Park on Saturday Night. In front of a massive crowd, Bloomquist led all 60 laps of the Independence 60, and now holds a 20-point lead over Jonathan Davenport in the Lucas Oil Championship Standings.
Jared Landers came from seventh to finish second in the Lance Landers Motorsports/Crop Production Services/Sweet-Bloomquist entry. Steve Francis finished third in the Optima Batteries/Tim Logan Racing/Black Diamond Chassis. Completing the top five were Tim McCreadie and former track champion, Rod Conley.
“Everyone has to be pretty tired after driving back home from a race in Kentucky last night. We tore the whole right side of the body off the car last night, so we went back to get this one ready. We have got two good cars now. This is the car I wanted to run here to get ready for the DTWC later this year,” said Bloomquist in Lucas Oil Victory Lane.
“I think we are pretty happy with where we are at. I didn’t realize until later that we broke the track record in qualifying. This car can just get around this track so well. It was good to see Jared come in second. I wasn’t worried with that caution with two laps to go. It was getting a little difficult to pass.”
“When I got into traffic I tried to stay low. Then I moved to the top and that wasn’t any good for us. We tried to get in and crowd the lapped cars. That helped us out because we could then make the pass. I want to thank Reece Monument Company, Crop Production Services, Mark Martin Automotive, Dyno-Gro Seed, Base Fuels, Lucas Oil, Horton Coal, Sorbera Chiropractic and Petroff Towing.”
Landers moved by Francis after a lap 47 caution but never could mount a serious challenge to Bloomquist. “I took advantage of that last restart to get by Steve. It was a pretty much a race for second, Scott was just too strong tonight. A week ago this place was under water. They did a great job with the track, it was smooth all night.”
Francis had a shot to track down Bloomquist in traffic during the mid-point of the race. “I could see him [Bloomquist] up there. I was hoping he would slip up and we could catch him. Some of those lapped cars wanted to race with you like they were on the lead lap. But we will take third and keep improving over the last half of the season.”
Completing the top ten were Brandon Sheppard, Eddie Carrier Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Don O’Neal and Jimmy Owens.
In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 33 entrants, with a lap of 14.129 seconds. Steve Francis set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 14.709 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Tim McCreadie, Don O’Neal, and Rod Conley won their respective heat races. Tim Dohm and Lee Logan won their respective B-Mains.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, July 2nd, 2016
Independence 60
Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 14.129 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Steve Francis / 14.709 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Jonathan Davenport, Jackie Boggs, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Tim Dohm, Kenny Christy, Ben Adkins, JT Conley, Zack Dohm
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers, Dennis Erb, Jr., RJ Conley, Earl Pearson, Jr., Colton Flinner, Kevin Wagner, Jason DuPont
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Steve Francis, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Sheppard, Lee Logan, Kenneth Howell, Audie Swartz, Kirk Phillips
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Rod Conley, Mike Benedum, Shannon Thornsberry, Steve Lucas, Billy Gullion, James Williamson, Darrell Lanigan, Delmas Conley-dns
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Tim Dohm, Earl Pearson, Jr., Colton Flinner, Kenny Christy, Ben Adkins, Zack Dohm, JT Conley, Jason DuPont, Kevin Wagner-DNS
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Lee Logan, Billy Gullion, Kenneth Howell, James Williamson, Audie Swartz, Darrell Lanigan-DNS, Kirk Phillips-DNS, Delmas Conley-DNS
Feature Finish (60 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | MONEY EARNED |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $12,900 |
| 2 | 7 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | $6,200 |
| 3 | 6 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $3,500 |
| 4 | 3 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $3,450 |
| 5 | 4 | 71r | Rod Conley | Wheelersburg, OH | $2,250 |
| 6 | 14 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $2,500 |
| 7 | 13 | 10C | Eddie Carrier, Jr. | Salt Rock, WV | $1,500 |
| 8 | 5 | 6 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | $2,400 |
| 9 | 2 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $2,000 |
| 10 | 10 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,900 |
| 11 | 17 | 6t | Tim Dohm | Charleston, WV | $1,075 |
| 12 | 23 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,750 |
| 13 | 12 | 17T | Shannon Thornsberry | Martin, KY | $1,025 |
| 14 | 8 | 1M | Mike Benedum | Salem, WV | $1,000 |
| 15 | 22 | 19 | James Williamson | Ivel, KY | $1,000 |
| 16 | 19 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,800 |
| 17 | 11 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,700 |
| 18 | 21 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | $1,100 |
| 19 | 9 | 4B | Jackie Boggs | Grayson, KY | $1,000 |
| 20 | 25 | 10 | Audie Swartz | Minford, OH | $1,000 |
| 21 | 15 | 71c | RJ Conley | Wheelersburg, OH | $1,000 |
| 22 | 18 | 37L | Lee Logan | Ashland, KY | $1,000 |
| 23 | 16 | 5L | Steve Lucas | Charleston, WV | $1,000 |
| 24 | 20 | 11g | Billy Gullion | Waverly, OH | $1,000 |
| 25 | 24 | c7 | Kenny Christy | Vanceburg, KY | $1,000 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 33
Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 – 60)
Cautions: Debris (Lap 2); Audie Swartz (Laps 47); Jackie Boggs (Lap 55); Colton Flinner (Lap 58)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Darrell Lanigan
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Miller Welders Fast Time Provisional: Kenny Christy
Portsmouth Raceway Park Track Provisional: Audie Swartz
Wrisco Feature Winner: Scott Bloomquist
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Darrell Lanigan (Started: 23rd; Finished: 12th; Advanced 11 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Darrell Lanigan
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jared Landers
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Colton Flinner
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Andy Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Cody Mallory (Scott Bloomquist)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Bloomquist (Lap #56 – 16.0196 seconds)
Most Laps Led: Scott Bloomquist (60 Laps)
PFC Brakes Tough Break Award: Dennis Erb Jr.
Time of Race: 27 minutes 29 seconds